Tunisia’s Ferjani Sassi speaks to FIFA.com about their match with England Midfielder rates Belgium the best team in the group He reveals Tunisia’s Russia 2018 objectives

Tunisia’s meeting with England at the Volgograd Arena on 18 June is the second FIFA World Cup™ meeting between the two countries. The first came in the group phase at France 1998, when goals from Paul Scholes and Alan Shearer gave the Three Lions a 2-0 win.

Much has changed since then, with both nations now putting the accent on youth. Heading up Tunisia’s new generation is Ferjani Sassi, a stylish midfielder blessed with outstanding vision. Before discussing Russia 2018 and the upcoming match against England, he reflected on that defeat 20 years ago, playing down any suggestions that it could influence Monday’s encounter.

“The 1998 match took place in very different circumstances," he said. "We play a more sophisticated type of football now. Everything’s changed.”

Raring to go
Though confident of his side’s chances, Sassi knows they face a real test against England: “It’s going to be a tough game. We’re busy analysing the way they play so we can prepare ourselves the best we can.”

The Tunisians are doing more than just focus on England’s game however: “The most important thing is to be ready on the day. We really have to work hard. If we’re 100 per cent, we can achieve something big, as we proved in our warm-up matches. When we take on England, we’ll be looking to cut out the mistakes we’ve made in the past and put in a great performance.”

Eyes on the second round
Though the consensus is that Tunisia have a major challenge on their hands in Group G, which also features Belgium and Panama, Sassi is optimistic about their chances: “We came here to get some good results. Like I said, we’ll take things one match at a time. We’ll be looking to make a good start against England and give ourselves a confidence boost.

“We’ll be going for the win in every game and our aim is to make the second round of the competition. We’ll need to play well against England if we want to keep this adventure going. We’re very confident and we don’t fear anyone, as we showed in the friendly against Spain. I hope that our destiny will still be in our hands by the time we face Panama.”

Belgium the team to beat
Though Sassi stopped short of analysing the other sides in the section, he did have this to say about Belgium: “They’re the best team in the group, if their recent friendly results and the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking are anything to go by. But whatever happens, we’re going to show every rival the respect they deserve.

“It’s a great honour to be playing in the World Cup. Every player dreams of being where we are. I’m fortunate to be representing my country in this competition and I hope we can make our mark on history.”